Almost two thousand years ago, the greatest historian of Rome, Tacitcriticized the devastating and merciless pax romana which was imposed on the peoples conquered and devastated by the legions. “They create a desert, and call it peace.”
Unfortunately, that is the type of peace that Ukraine is expected to accept after suffering almost four years of criminal and unjustified war declared by the Russia of Putin.
The 28-point Russian-American proposal, leaked last week by Moscow, amounts to a full-fledged capitulation by kyiv. He diktat agreed by Trump and Putin in Anchorage (Alaska) last August puts all the pressure on the attacked victim and none on the aggressor.
Among other concessions, Ukraine is required to cede to Russia the territories of the four oblast from Donbaslimit the size and capabilities of its Armed Forces, forever renounce joining the Atlantic Alliance, or accept Russian as the country’s second official language.
The moment to announce the supposed peace agreement has been carefully chosen by Moscow: when Zelensky He is especially harassed by a corruption scandal, a million-dollar bribery scheme that has affected his closest collaborators.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his former head of the presidential office Andri Yermak.
Reuters
Corruption is an endemic challenge in Ukrainecleverly used by Moscow to discredit and weaken Zelensky. On the other hand, the Russian Army is achieving modest territorial advances in Donbas at the cost of enormous casualties.
Washington’s chaotic rush to reach a peace agreement, Trump initially set Thursday, November 27, as the deadline for kyiv to accept it, although he has extended it sine thethey don’t know the true nature of the war in Ukraine, which is not territorial but ideological.
Putin did not invade Ukraine in February 2022 to annex Donbas, which was already largely under the control of pro-Russian militias, but to depose Zelensky, end his regime, and replace him with a Moscow puppet government, like that of Belarus.
Therefore, making territorial concessions to Russia will not alter Putin’s plans in any way, which after the potential ceasefire and cessation of hostilities would soon resume his maneuvers to destabilize and finally overthrow the kyiv regime through cyberattacks, sabotage, assassinations, hybrid threats and massive disinformation campaigns.
Putin considers he has lost the favor of the Ukrainian citizens; it would be enough for him to impose an authoritarian regime in kyiv that is a vassal of Moscow.
Putin’s geostrategic objective is stated in writing in the document he addressed to the president Biden and the Secretary General of NATO Stoltenberg in December 2021.
“Putin did not invade Ukraine to annex Donbas, which was already under his control, but to depose Zelensky, end his regime and replace him with a puppet government from Moscow”
In it he explained his conditions for not invading Ukraine. Namely: the demilitarization and neutrality of kyiv, its refusal to join NATOas well as the dismantling of facilities and the withdrawal of Atlantic Alliance troops from current NATO allies that once belonged to the Warsaw Pact.
That is, recognizing Moscow once again a zone of influence in Eastern Europe.
This Russian revisionism and expansionism is the real challenge that challenges us Europeans. Ciphered in Putin’s lament that the greatest geostrategic disaster of the 20th century was the implosion of the Soviet Union in December 1991.
This being the case, we Europeans cannot limit ourselves to improvising damage-limiting reactions that partially amend the unacceptable Russian-American 28-point plan.
Rather, we must negotiate and agree among the 27 Member States on a realistic, fair and lasting peace proposal for Ukraine, hand in hand with kyiv, that reflects our principles and priorities.
Inter alia:
– The aggressor cannot receive reward for launching a criminal war.
– Nothing should be decided about the fate of Ukraine without counting on the Ukrainians,
– Europe must sit at the negotiating table, since the result of any peace agreement will have an existential impact on its own security and stability.
-Credible and dissuasive security guarantees must be granted to Ukraine vis-à-vis Russia (a collective security commitment comparable to that of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty).
– Ukraine’s ability to defend itself will not be restricted by limiting the size of its Armed Forces.
– Any territorial exchange must be agreed upon by Ukraine and Russia.
– Ukraine will be invited to quickly join the EU as a better guarantee of its security and prosperity.
If we are not able to articulate our own autonomous peace initiative, then we Europeans cannot hope to sit at the negotiating table.
*** Nicolás Pascual de la Parte is a PP MEP and former ambassador of Spain to NATO.